Posted in: Disney+, Star Wars, TV | Tagged: amandla stenberg, Hanelle Culpepper, Lee Jung-Jae, Manny Jacinto, Review, Star Wars: The Acolyte, The Acolyte
The Acolyte Ep. 6 "Teach/Corrupt" Review: A Star Wars "Parent Trap"
Lucasfilm's The Acolyte Episode 6: "Teach/Corrupt" is a psychological standoff between the masters and twins with some tense moments.
At the end of last week's episode of Lucasfilm and Disney+'s The Acolyte, we found Mae (Amandla Stenberg) desperate to escape from her former master Qimir (Manny Jacinto) – also known as The Stranger, sensing doubt within her. Cutting her hair and swapping clothes with her twin Osha (Stenberg), she flees with Jedi Master Sol (Lee Jung-jae) from the planet Khofar in his ship, posing as her twin. As we start the episode "Teach/Corrupt," Qimir has kidnapped Osha, but doesn't restrain her off to a remote world. While I wasn't expecting the episode to have the kind of impact that "Night" did, "Teach/Corrupt" (directed by Hanelle Culpepper and written by Leslye Headland & Jocelyn Bioh) felt too much like a "bridge" episode before the final two episodes. The following contains minor spoilers…
The Acolyte: A Chess Match Between Masters and Pupils
The episode is split into three separate arcs: Mae and Sol (and if Sol will find out the truth), Osha trying to learn more about her captor, and Vernestra (Rebecca Henderson) making sense of the mission that sees Sol and his band of Jedi trying to capture Mae – with Mog (Harry Trevaldwyn) providing intel on the party. The interaction between Jung-jae and Stenberg goes as well as expected, as Sol is still rife with guilt over the events 15 years ago, and Mae tries to stay one step ahead – and strike if needed.
The more interesting dynamic is between Qimir and Osha, vibing similar to 2017's The Last Jedi between Mark Hamill's Luke and Daisy Ridley's Rey as he trains her in the ways of the Force. Significantly more subdued from the last episode, Qimir remains calm and collected, trying to help rewire Osha's brain about the Force and the Dark Side. Jacinto does a wonderful job playing up to the moments and evoking Stenberg's curiosity – with the chemistry between the two clearly on display.
Regarding Henderson and Trevaldwyn's scenes, I half-expected some sci-fi tech worthy of a CSI: Star Wars and some cameo from David Caruso doing his Horatio Caine pun and sunglasses, but alas, it's as mundane as can be setting up for the next episode. Directed by Hanelle M. Culpepper and written by showrunner Leslye Headland and Jocelyn Bioh, "Teach/Corrupt" is certainly a more grounded episode considering the developments of "Night," but predictable and sets up the next episode. I wasn't expecting another holy shit moment, but perhaps a nice twist – though I did enjoy the ending tease. New episodes of The Acoltye stream on Tuesdays on Disney+.